Good news: you're getting a better workout than you used to. Why? That stroller holding your little peanut adds resistance, which means that you're likely to burn more calories per workout and have the potential to gain fitness quicker than if you worked out solo.
Until a few years ago, the closest research-measured equivalent to exercising with a stroller was walking and running while wearing a backpack. Fortunately, due to new research, we now have a better idea of how exercising with a stroller affects our calorie usage. First, a 2005 study published in the Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness found something unexpected: avid runners used energy at the same rate while running with a stroller as they did without. This happened despite subjects having higher heart and breathing rates when running with a stroller. Last September the Journal of Cardiopulmonary Rehabilitation & Prevention published a study that focused on less active women, and cleared up discrepancies found in the earlier study. This study found that walking with a stroller required more energy than walking alone, both on level ground and up hills.
Review this chart to see the difference a stroller can make on the number of calories burned during one mile of moderately-paced walking. And as you can see, climbing hills is a great way to boost your burn even more!
Bush L., Porcari J.P., Greany K., Greany J., Dodge C., & Foster C. (2007). The energy expenditure and exercise intensity of pushing a baby stroller. Journal of Cardiopulmonary Rehabilitation, 27(5).
Smith, J.D., Kinser, K.B., Dugan, E., & Reed, M. (2005). Physiological and biomechanical responses while running with and without a stroller. Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness, 45(3), 270-276.
Anne Koski has been teaching Baby Boot Camp in Portland, OR since May 2005. Having recently completed her Masters in Exercise Science, Anne excitedly awaits her first little one due in June 2008.